|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
James Kuszmaul
Software engineer | james4mv.com
Top priorities
- Getting more homes built at all price points
- Improving street infrastructure so people can walk and bike safely, especially children
- Ensuring Mountain View doesn’t cooperate with ICE and protects people from the “excesses” of the federal government
Public service
- Mountain View Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (2021-present)
- VTA Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (2025-present)
Community involvement
- Mountain View YIMBY
- Mountain View High School Robotics Team
For years, James Kuszmaul has been advocating for more housing and safer streets in Mountain View. He views running for City Council as a natural extension of that work.
“People should be able to immigrate to Mountain View and people who grow up in Mountain View and work in Mountain View should be able to live here,” Kuszmaul told the Voice.
In this November’s General Election, Kuszmaul is one of eight candidates vying for three seats on the Mountain View City Council, which sets policies and the overall direction of the city. There are seven Council members in total.
Kuszmaul is a proponent of adding more housing at all price points, including both affordable and market-rate projects. Kuszmaul – who is a volunteer lead for Mountain View YIMBY, a local housing advocacy group – said in an interview that more housing benefits everyone. It reduces competition for naturally affordable housing, like older rent-controlled apartments, he told the Voice.
“I generally want to say ‘yes’ to any new housing we can,” he said.
Kuszmaul backs Senate Bill 79, a state law passed last year that allows for denser housing to be constructed near major transit stops. SB 79 is a “significant improvement” over the city’s previous zoning near its train stations, he said. Kuszmaul added that it will also encourage residents to use public transit.
“More people will be paying fares, which can then fund more service,” he said. “It’s an excellent positive feedback loop.”
Under SB 79, cities can choose to adopt a “local alternative plan,” designating where to build housing near major transit stops so long as they maintain the same total base housing capacity stipulated by the state law.
Kuszmaul is not in favor of the city adopting an alternative plan, nor designating the downtown area as an historic district, because he believes these measures could limit housing growth, making it more difficult for people to live in Mountain View.
Kuszmaul also opposes further restricting RVs and other oversized vehicles from parking on city streets, noting that it would cause hardships for vehicle residents. Instead, Kuszmaul supports the city expanding safe parking sites and building more housing so that people don’t have to live in vehicles.
A top campaign priority for Kuszmaul, who serves on the city’s Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, is creating safer streets so that people can walk and bike more easily. He supports the recent changes made to California Street, which included reducing vehicle lanes to make space for protected bike lanes. However, Kuszmaul noted that improvements still could be made, like creating better sight lines for vehicles leaving driveways.
He also voiced concerns that street safety projects take too long to implement. In the case of California Street, the pilot program got underway more than a decade after traffic fatalities originally prompted advocacy to improve the road, Kuszmaul said.
“And then it’s probably going to take almost a year before we actually implement any feedback from the pilot,” he said. “When we have those long timelines, that is frustrating to people.”
Over the next few years, Mountain View is projected to face modest budget deficits. Kuszmaul supports the city asking voters to approve future revenue measures to help Mountain View fund local needs. However, he added that it is important to clearly explain the benefits and explicitly state what the funding would support.
On the issue of downtown revitalization, Kuszmaul thinks the city’s economic vitality strategy is making headway but wants to implement more items from the plan. SB 79 could also create opportunities for people to live downtown and drive more foot traffic for local businesses, he said.
With respect to climate change, Kuszmaul said the city is making progress on its carbon neutrality goals but could do more. He noted that transportation and building emissions are the biggest source of pollutants locally. Adding housing near public transit would help reduce emissions, he said, noting that newer buildings are more energy efficient than older ones.
Another key priority for Kuszmaul is working at the local level to protect people’s rights from the federal government’s encroachment, including not cooperating with immigration agents. Kuszmaul said he wants the city to stand up for its beliefs.
“I don’t want to be non-strategic, but I also don’t want to brush issues under the rug,” he told the Voice.
Kuszmaul supports increasing oversight of the police department, including reinstating something similar to the Public Safety Advisory Board, which the City Council dissolved two years ago. Kuszmaul also voiced opposition to automatic license plate readers, which the police department removed earlier this year after discovering major security and privacy breaches involving the technology.
In the coming days, the Voice will be publishing individual profiles of each City Council candidate. To compare the candidates side-by-side on the issues, check out our Candidate Comparison Grid. And head over to our 2026 Election Center to view all of our recent coverage.
Most Popular
Herbicide identified as likely culprit of mass tree die-off near Mountain View librarySeptember 23, 2026 6:09 pm
Mountain View's Cinemark Century 16 theater won't close for good after allSeptember 16, 2026 8:02 pm
